I was raised in a very artistic family and my interests have always been in the visual arts. Trying to stay with the ‘family tradition’, my oil paintings were included in juried and invitational shows…but I soon discovered I was taking a different path. I enjoyed working in dimensional visual arts…something I could hold, feel and see all the way around. Sculpting became my passion and to be more explicit…I began making original dolls in porcelain and polymer clay, one of a kinds. I still do one-of-a-kinds occasionally.

But you are here because you share my passion for cloth…soft sculptures, if you will.

I begin each ‘friend’ (my term of endearment for each creation) with an image in my mind…unfortunately that image, this new friend…will not leave me alone until it is ‘brought to life’ and to make matters worse, one will pop up in my mind before I am finished with the last.

I sketch it first and then create a pattern that will make this sketch a reality. I am the first to admit, that I have had a few ‘step children’!! One’s that didn’t quite look like they came from me. LOL.

That is always the problem when you create rather than follow…you have no directions to follow and sometimes you goof. But then again, sometimes these goofs are most endearing and this little ‘step child’ takes me in a new direction.

My husband and biggest encourager in everything I do…is very patient as I toss and turn all night, sometimes up and down thru the wee hours running for a pencil and paper to capture an image I have rasseled with for hours. I have found if a ‘friend’ comes to mind late at night, and I don’t sketch it right away, it will be gone by morning. Is that due to the growing number of years my imagination has been at work and finally becoming not quite so sharp as it once was?

My husband has many times asked me…”chasing teddy bears again?”….hence the name.

I do so admire the artists who are focused on a certain theme or style…my sleepless night yearn for that dedication.

For me though, there is no focus and no boundaries for me to work within. I design based completely on what tickles my fancy at any given moment. One day it may be a bear, the next a mouse or a dog. Honestly, I feel like Dorothy walking down the yellow brick road…at every turn there is something new and exciting. That’s how I create and when a collector buys one of my ‘friends’ I feel as though I am not alone. I can hardly wait for my next new ‘friend’ to come into my mind. No two are ever alike.

Many times I will have requests to create a ‘friend’ over again. I have this strange quirk that I really dislike making something twice. That is why I was never a good knitter…all of my sweaters had one arm and were never finished. I guess it goes against my creative instinct …always wanting to create a new and different friend.

Thank you for staying with me thru this long narration…you are a good friend! I wish I could have poured us a cup of tea and could now sit and listen to your story.

Many blessings to your and your loved ones.

Nancy